A Conversation With...
Dr. Nadina Duran - Hutchings

Q: Where did you grow up and how did you get here, (A&M-CC)?

A: I was born in Cuba. I left in 1961 due to arrival of Castro and his communist regime. We fled to Venezuela with my mother and father and brother, who is a year and a half younger than me. My father worked as a professor of mathematics and physics at a Technical University, and later in life he resumed his career as an industrial engineer. My mother was an Algebra teacher at a private school.

I completed tenth grade in Cuba and continued my high school education in Maracaibo, the second largest city in Venezuela, where I also attended college earning a degree in Mathematics with two minors: Physics and Education. Upon completion of my undergraduate degree my Alma Mater, the University of Zulia, opened up a competitive full scholarship to acquire a Masters Degree. I was granted this opportunity and went to Chile to work on an M.S. in Mathematical Statistics at CIENES (Centro Interamericano para la Enseñanza de Estadística) an Institute established for Latin America by Stanford University.

Upon completion of this degree with a specialty in Operation Research, I went back to Venezuela and completed a five-year appointment at the University of Zulia, where I was the youngest faculty member at age 23. During this time I organized the Statistics component of the undergraduate courses for the mathematics program and did an extensive published review of mathematics textbooks and articles for the faculty in my division. After being promoted to Associate faculty I moved to Caracas, the country capital, where I was hired by the Central University of Caracas for two years and did research work for the Venezuelan government in sampling for surveys and statistical modeling. My last appointment as a professional educator in Venezuela, was at the Universidad Metropolitana, a private institution which - at the time - only admitted students with the highest scores. I taught calculus, linear algebra and statistics to
mathematics, engineering, and architecture majors. There, I wrote and produced my first theater play, "Math Alive!" where students enacted the lives and ideas of mathematicians. I repeated that production at our campus in 1989.

This governmental contribution earned me another scholarship this time to come to the United States for a Ph. D. program. After visiting several universities I selected The University of Texas at Austin where I studied for my professional career as Mathematics Educator with a specialty in Higher Education. This choice came upon through the advice of Dr. Ray Carry who considered my strong statistical background and suggested that to start a successful career as an educator in this country I should study carefully the educational system and its implementations. I engaged in a meta-analysis –both statistical and theoretical - of fifteen years of research findings for my dissertation. At age 34 I was hired by C.C.S.U. in the summer of 1981 and I became the only full time faculty member in the Math Program and the only Latin American female with a Ph.D. in the faculty of the College of Science and Technology.

I have been here for 23 years working on fulfilling on a promise I made to my graduate advisor at UT, Dr. L. Ray Carry. “I know your goals well by now”, he said to me; “you need to find a place where you become a role model for all those Hispanics students who are lacking inspiration. Look for a job in South Texas”. One week after Dean Ruth Bake called him asking Dr. Carry to recommend a young graduate for a position teaching mathematics. No much more to add… I came and stayed…

Fulfilling this goal has been the focus of my professional life in Corpus Christi. However, it has not been an easy task. I thank God for the gifts of self-confidence and perseverance which helped me establish a recognized leadership in our community and contribute to enhancing mathematics education in South Texas.

Q: What motivates you and has helped you become who you are today?

A: I love to contribute to people. I express that love as a teacher. I started teaching at age 16 with the insight that being a teacher was NOT about “telling students what to do”, but rather ENGAGING them in the pursuit of knowledge through the discovery of meaning and personal relevance. I think my father taught me that value, when he helped me compose songs - I love to sing - to remember rivers and islands in Geography.

Q: What makes you passionate about your field and teaching students?

A: I just love to see the smile or expression on the face of a student when meaning and understanding are acquired. When someone learns something, there is no turning back. That’s what moves me, working against negative entropy. That makes my day.

Q: What course(s) are your favorite to teach?

A: I love all of them: If you don’t love what you do you’re not going to put out everything you have. My preference is for teacher professional development courses, because through them I can contribute to large number of children.

Q: What co-curricular activities are you involved in, and how can students become involved with you in those activities?

A: I work with Learning Communities and collaborate with other faculty organizing and conducting summer camps for high school students

Q: Outside of TAMUCC, what extracurricular activities are you involved in; what do you do for fun?

A: I love gardening and interior design. I work-out and practice outdoor sports such as rafting and scuba diving when I can. I like to hang around with family – my cousin and his wife - and friends. The rest of my family members live in South America. I still try to go home often to visit my brother and his children

Q: Who inspired you the most or had the greatest impact during your collegiate experience which directed you to your field of study?

A: Early on my parents – both teachers - showed me their love for the profession. My brother – a retired faculty in Venezuela - also contributed to my growth by always asking me questions about what I do and why. Dr. Ray Carry, my advisor at the University of Texas in Austin, infused in me the love and need for research based decision making.

Q: What is your greatest achievement and whom do you attribute this to?

A: To have cared for my mother at home –Alzheimer’s disease - with all the love and devotion I was capable of giving and show up at work joyously and energetically.

Q: What question does the study of Mathematics attempt to answer?

A: How relationships among variable quantities can be communicated in an efficient manner; how to prove that certain mathematical statements follow logically from other statements and how to use mathematical knowledge as a tool for solving real-life problems.

Q: Wouldn’t be caught dead wearing?

A: No lipstick/perfume.